MCAT Prompt - Health Care

The writing sample portion of the MCAT gives a prompt that you have to respond to in 30 minutes. I am practicing this and will be posting the results here.

When it is said that "Health care is a right, not a privilege", the implication is that one is entitled to health care by virtue of being part of the group that is to provide said service as opposed to only having access if one has the financial means to purchase the service. In California, employees working for a company that has a group policy have the right to be covered by that policy, regardless of previous medical conditions. However, many companies are charging most of the premium to the employee, which could prevent them from actually affording the coverage.

The key here is to determine what is a "right" and what is not. As Americans, we have several rights delineated in the Constitution, like the right to petition the government, to choose our religion or even to speak out against the government, among others. If health care is a right, then it is something the government can not take away. In this sense, the government can not give citizens their rights, either. As citizens, we are "endowed by our creator" with our rights, not by our government.

Education is a good example of what a right is and is not. In the US, education is not a 'right' as determined by the Constitution. In fact, public education wasn't widely available until the 20th century, before that it was a privilege that only the rich could afford. It was never considered a 'right' of citizenship. However, with the Industrial Revolution and a movement away from an agrarian based system, it was quickly realized by leaders in the government, business and academia that a modern society required an educated citizenry. This paradigm shift away from education as a privilege to education as a necessity for a modern nation has reaped a multitude of benefits for everyone in the US, rich and poor alike.

It is this observation that should be made today about health care. If it is not a right, should it continue to be just a privilege? Can a modern nation continue to function without its citizens having access to modern medicine? Education is only one example, others include clean water, sewer systems and roadways. These are not rights but necessities to promote the general welfare.